Being Bad
by Luv 2 Write Romance
Summary: I had always imagined my prince would be a blue-eyed knight in shining armor. I never imagined or expected a green-eyed, raven-haired boy whom I had no business being with. BubblesButch
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

_Saturday_

Hi. I'm Bubbles Utonium. I'm sixteen years old and attend Townsville High. I was also created by accident and so were my sisters, Blossom and Buttercup, and by some miracle we all had super powers. We became Townsville's super heroes. The Powerpuff Girls! But, of course, heroes always mean villains. This includes the villains we're facing now, our counterparts, the Rowdyruff Boys. Brick, the red-headed counterpart of Blossom, is the leader. Despite his brains, he can't hold a candle to Blossom's genius. Butch is the tough fighter, all brawn and no brain, and the counterpart of Buttercup. While she doesn't always think things through, she definitely has some common sense which is more than I can say for Butch. Lastly, is Boomer the "dumb blonde" and my counterpart whom everyone says is just like me (minus the masculine features)! While he _is_ my counterpart I am quite offended by this. I know I'm blonde and naïve, but come on! I'm not a complete and total idiot. In fact, I'd say the only thing that illustrates us as counterparts is that we both usually wear blue and have blonde hair and blue eyes.

"You're getting weaker," Boomer taunted me, knowing just how to get my goat which, admittedly, isn't a very hard thing to do.

"I am not," I whined, glaring at him and receiving a smirk in return. Butch flew up next to him to join in his teasing, brushing some strands of the shaggy black hair that fell into his eyes back only to have them stick up slightly. "I didn't think it was possible for her to get any weaker. She's already pathetic," Butch threw in while Buttercup was prying herself out of the wall Butch had thrown her into.

"No, I'm not!" I screamed, aiming a punch at Butch's head. I wasn't thinking of course. I hadn't thought about the reasons Buttercup fought Butch instead of me fighting Butch. 1. Butch was faster than me with faster reflexes than I could ever hope to have. 2. Butch is also stronger than I could ever dream to be, and I have very outrageous and vivid dreams.

I blinked, and Butch, glaring at me all the while, caught my fist mid-swing. My eyes widened, though I shouldn't have been surprised, and he flung me to the ground. I groaned in frustration, more at myself, and in pain as I slowly rose to my feet and flew up into the air. Buttercup had rejoined the fight and was keeping Butch busy. My eyes scanned the area for Boomer, but he found me first. I was blasted in the back with laser beams. What a dirty trick! But what else would I expect form a _villain_? A fair fight is always out of the question. I was now half conscious and half unconscious, my body slowly drifting back and forth between the two. '_Maybe I _am_ getting weaker…'_ I thought to myself. No. I shook my head, trying to rid the thought from my mind and get back to reality. I suddenly snapped back, as if nothing had hit me (sort of, my head still hurt), in time to dodge the kick that was aimed at my stomach. I grabbed Boomer's leg and flung him through the wall of a brick building, leaving a gaping hole. I smiled giddily.

"Who's weak now, Boomer?" I yelled, doing a mental happy dance. Boomer flew out of the building, charging at me with everything he had. I was focused. I was ready.

"Bubbles look out!" I heard Buttercup yell. I turned in time to see a building's support beam flying at my head. The next thing I knew I was back on the ground looking up at the five floating/spinning figures (or twenty-five) before I slipped into unconsciousness.

PPG PGG PGG

"Stupid Rowdyruff Boys. Fighting dirty. But I wouldn't expect anything less from villains," I heard Buttercup sneer, her voice growing and fading. She was pacing back and forth.

"Shhh…," said a voice right next to me. "You'll wake her up." It had to be Blossom. I cracked my eyes open a tiny bit, so far so good. I tried to open them completely, bad idea. They were light sensitive, so I closed them and tried again. This time I slowly fluttered them open. My head was pounding, I mean more than it was during the fight, not like a hammer but like an annoying and very painful thudding. It's like if you slam your head against a wall a few times.

"Uhhng…" my first attempt at speech, "What happened?" I asked, taking in my surroundings and realizing I was back in our room.

"You were knocked out. Butch hit you in the head with a metal support beam," Blossom explained, using her analysis voice (all business). I reached up to touch my forehead and cringed as I touched the spot the pounding originated and felt a shock of pain and a bump the size of my fist.

"They got away?" I asked, wondering if my knock out had prevented the Ruffs form being caught.

"No duh! Of course they got away! They fight dirty," Buttercup snapped, clearly still mad to not kick the snot out of Butch or one of his brothers.

"Buttercup, that support beam was meant for _your_ head," Blossom stated, still all business and no nonsense. It was my fault. I should have moved.

"What'd they steal?" I asked, my curiosity ruling out my guilt and starting to lead me to about a million more questions.

"Just some jewels-" Blossom began.

"Wait," I interrupted, "What happened to the building the support beam came from?"

"It fell, Dummy, what else would it have done? Tap danced?" Buttercup snapped, growing impatient.

"Oh," I stated feeling stupid for not using common sense to figure it out. Slowly the throbbing in the bump on my head went down and the bump itself began to go down. I slowly got off of the bed I was laying on and stretched.

"So, what now?" I asked, and Blossom sighed.

"There's nothing we _can_ do," she said tiredly, "Except wait for their next move." There was a moment of silence, and the hotline rang shortly after causing us to jump a bit. You'd think the crime rate would decrease as the years of being protectors of Townsville went by, but they only seemed to increase.

"Yes, Mayor? …A hold up?...Okay, we're on our way," Blossom said, switching to her "in charge" voice.

"The Rowdyruff Boys?" Buttercup asked, clearly ready for a rematch.

"No, it's just Mojo Jojo," Blossom said taking off through on the open, circular windows in our room. Buttercup was flying out the window before I had time to blink. I took off as fast as I could through the window trying to catch up with my much faster sisters. I landed at the scene of the crime, a bank vault with giant gaping holes in them and several flustered bystanders, in time to see the police taking Mojo to jail.

"Gosh, took you long enough, Bubbles. Not that he put up much of a fight," Buttercup stated in a smug tone of voice. Too slow.

As I stared up at the ceiling that night, I tried to push the thought of weakness from my mind. Sure there were times I had my moments, but we only lost to the Rowdyruff because they got lucky. _Real_ lucky. I _totally_ could've handled Boomer today. I could've taken on any one of them. _'No you couldn't,'_ a voice in my head was all too quick to remind me. Brick, he was a definite maybe and Boomer I _knew_ I could beat. Butch, absolutely not! I frowned. I _had_ to get better somehow. But how?


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

_Sunday_

I was the first on up. I normally was, being the only morning person, except for when Blossom decides to make breakfast. Washed up and wearing a baby blue tank top and dark blue jeans, I snuck out of the house, determined to learn how to toughen up. But who could I possibly ask to teach me? Blossom and Buttercup would never let me live it down. Buttercup would be too tough, and Blossom would be all condescending, as if I didn't get enough of that from her already. As I slowly ran down the list of people my hope began to dwindle. Maybe I could just teach myself, but how can you teach what I don't know? '_Way to think it through you ditz!'_ I was mentally kicking myself. It looked like experimenting would be the only chance I got at getting any better. Maybe I'll just have to work harder to improve what I already know and then maybe I'll learn something new! Yeah! This training thing won't be so hard. I'll be kicking bad guy butt in no time. My powers were my strong points, so I'll work on my speed and maneuvering. No use in having powers if you can't hit your targets or dodge their attacks. Now all I need is a place to practice. Think. Think. Think. Where could I possibly train? The woods!

PGG PGG PGG

I flew low through the trees, trying to maneuver through the braches flying as fast as I could, a lot faster if my hair wouldn't get caught on a branch every now and then. I even tore my shirt on the side trying to fly between two too close braches and cut my arm for not paying attention. And I stopped mid flight as the Rowdyruff Boys came into view. I quickly hid in the bushes silently praying they wouldn't see me. Without leaving my spot I took a closer look. They were too busy fighting and laughing with each other to notice me. How had I forgotten that they lived out here in the woods? I remained crouched down behind the bushes for hours watching their fighting styles. Butch was different than how he used to be. He used to act on impulse if not given an order from Brick. Now he waited. He analyzed your movements as you made them. It was honestly no shock to me that Butch won the fight against his brothers. My legs were cramping up in my crouched position.

"C'mon I'm starving," Brick announced before steadily floating upward, and Boomer followed suit. Finally! I'll be free!

"Give me a sec," mumbled Butch.

Brick shrugged and two of the Ruffs left leaving dark red and blue streaks behind them. Butch took off quickly in the opposite direction. I slowly stood, my knees aching for staying in the position so long. The breath was knocked out of me as I was slammed into a tree. Two hands with an amazingly strong grip pinned me by my shoulders. I looked up from my slight daze and gazed into a pair of glaring, dark green eyes.

"What are you doing here?" he asked in a low tone of voice, almost a growl.

"I came here to fight." I immediately regretted my choice of words.

"Is that so?" His glare deepened and I immediately tried to rethink my words.

"W-What I mean is, I'm trying to l-learn how to fight better. How'd you know I was here?" He unpinned me. I watched him start to fly away.

"Wait," I said quietly. "Wait!" I said louder this time even though, I knew, with his hearing he heard me the first time. He just ignored me and continued to fly away. I sighed and left in the direction of my home. He spared my life? He could've easily finished me right then and there. Maybe they're not all bad. And maybe pigs will fly. I just flew away dazed and confused, as I always was.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

_Still Sunday…_

I breathed out a sigh of relief when I saw the windows to my bedroom were open. But it was short lived relief. It turned to confusion as I walked quietly to the bathroom to treat my arm. How did Butch know I was there? Why didn't he rat me out to his brothers? Why didn't he kill me when he had the chance? I walked back to my room and pushed the thoughts out of my mind. I sighed as I tossed the ruined tank top into the garbage can and settled for a white halter top.

"Bubbles? Where've you been? You weren't here this morning, and I haven't seen you all day," Blossom said, walking into the room.

"Oh you know just flyin' around, and I got a little sidetracked," I said and hoped I didn't look suspicious. Blossom shrugged.

"So what've you been up to?" I asked Blossom.

"Patrolling. No signs of trouble so far, but there's always something on. We just haven't found it yet. Bubbles, would you mind patrolling a bit? I'm exhausted."

"Sure Blossom," I said as upbeat and cheery as possible.

"Thanks," she said as she turned and walked away. I grabbed my wallet and my house keys and floated out the window. A quick stop at McDonald's wouldn't hurt before patrolling. I was thankful I hadn't flown more than halfway across the yard because I'd forgotten my cell phone. I jammed the little black phone into my pocket, and flew to the McDonald's close to the outskirts of town looking down to make sure that there was no trouble around.

"One big mac, a sprite, and an order of cookies please," I ordered with my signature bubbly smile.

"You're awfully hungry," the boy behind the counter said while punching in my order, "That'll be $5.47." He's cute.

"Yeah, I'm starving," I said twirling a lock of my blonde hair around my finger and handing him the money. His dark brown hair was shaggy and covered his eyebrows, and just slightly fell into his muddy brown eyes in a _very_ alluring way. He flashed a white smile at me.

"Here's your order," he said, still smiling.

"Thanks."

"Hey, you maybe wanna hang out or something?"

"Sure, I'll give my number." I scribbled out my number down on a napkin and handed it to him.

"Later," he said and winked at me. I giggled a little bit, force of habit whenever something went really well for me.

"Wait. What's your name?" I asked before I forgot.

"Marco."

"I'm Bubbles. Well… bye." I felt giddier than usual, but there's no time for that I had to eat and patrol.

'_No signs of trouble here,'_ I thought to myself. I changed the course of my flight to head downtown. All seemed to be going well until I reached the heart of the downtown area. Fuzzy Lumpkins was holding up a banjo store (typical).

"Not so fast Fuzzy," I said glaring at him in the most menacing way a marshmallow of a girl like me could. Let's not forget that most villains found me, without my sisters, as not much of a threat, with the exception of Mojo Jojo who's seen me at my worst. Fuzzy turned that red color he always turned when he got mad or when ever my sisters and I stopped him mid-crime and he was about to go berserk. He took aim at me, but I tackled him to the ground before he could fire, and his gun skidded across the floor. He kneed me in the stomach, and as I involuntarily clutched my stomach he roughly pushed me off to the side while the wind was knocked out of me. In the two seconds it took me to get to my feet Fuzzy had managed to grab his gun, and fired it. The bullet whizzed past my head, and suddenly my head was spinning and swimming with all the possibilities (okay _Possibility_) of what could've happened if he hadn't missed. He almost blew my head off! The loud bang and sharp pain in my leg was enough to tell me I needed to get my head back in the game and to stop daydreaming, as I often did, when it mattered the most. Ignoring my legs dislike of the movement at the moment, I stepped back and readied myself for anything. Fuzzy had already slung his bag of goods over his should and was running towards the exit, assuming I was out of commission for the time being. I tackled him from behind and snapped his gun over my knee, without thinking, and caused even more pain to shoot up my leg. Holding Fuzzy down to the ground, the cops (who had finally managed to arrive) snapped the handcuffs on him, thanked me, and led him away to be taken to jail. I gave the (almost) stolen goods to the store owner, and flew home as fast as I could so I could treat my wound. I flew through the circular window and ran to the bathroom only to find it locked. I pounded on the door with my fist, the dull thudding echoing through the empty hallway and the force of my fist making the frame shudder.

"Can it wait? I'm a little busy," Blossom's voice rang through the door.

"No, it's an emergency!" Blossom cracked the door open, looking at my disheveled hair and bloody jeans, and widening her eyes and the door to let me in. She was in nothing but a towel and her long, red hair was piled up in a towel on top of her head except for the small locks that escaped and clung to her skin. She stepped aside to let me in, and I went for the first aid kit under the sink.

"What happened to you?" she asked, worry coating her voice.

"Oh…," I tried to pass it off as no big deal, "I got shot was all."

"By who? With what?"

"Fuzzy Lumpkins. I caught him robbing a banjo store, and he shot at me and tried to get away." No need to tell her that I nearly took a bullet to the brain.

"Typical Fuzzy," she muttered more to herself than to me.

My healing powers were already starting to kick in as the major bleeding had stopped, but it would still take days for the overall wound to heal completely. I was gently tugging the bullet wedged in my thigh. It was tough, especially when it hurt to touch it, and I honestly didn't appreciate the audience. But I'm too nice to just tell someone to leave when they're just making sure I'm alright. I sighed and threw my head back in frustration. I looked into the mirror and was actually surprised by what I saw. I knew I looked bad, especially after a fight, but I looked like someone put me in a clothes dryer set on tumble. I turned my attention back to my leg and continued to trying to dislodge the bullet in my leg. Blossom chose this time to leave, probably so no one would have to see her in a towel or so she wouldn't have to see me pry an object from my bloody leg, and if was the latter I could completely understand. It was no more pleasant for me either. No sooner had she left that Buttercup came passing by.

"Whoa, what the hell happened to you?" she asked, staring intently at my "battle scar."

"Fuzzy Lumpkins shot me while trying to rob a store. I'm trying to get the bullet out." She nodded and continued to watch me as I finally removed the bullet from my leg.

"Um… I have to take my pants off for this next part," I said sheepishly. She got the picture and walked off in the direction of our room.

"Don't you knock?" I heard Blossom shout at Buttercup.

"It's my room too you…" I didn't hear anymore because Buttercup had closed the door behind her. I chuckled before shutting the bathroom door. I shimmied out of my jeans and scowled at the dark, red, dried up blood that made a-none-too-flattering spot on my otherwise pale legs. I grabbed a small towel and ran it under some warm water and proceeded to dab around the wound. Pulling out some disinfectant and some gauze I then cleaned and dressed the spot where the bullet had once been. Throwing away my now ruined pants, I ran into my room where Blossom was still dressing and Buttercup was reading a magazine.

"Don't you ever knock?" Blossom shouted for the second time that day.

"I'll knock when it's _your_ room," I retorted and threw on a skirt son the fabric wouldn't rub against the gauze as it would have if I had put on jeans.


	4. Chapter 4

_(Tuesday School 12:03 p.m.)_

When I asked Buttercup and Blossom what made them tough they said too completely different answers. Blossom said it was a well thought out plan; When you can out smart them, it doesn't matter how great your strength. Buttercup said that it was attitude; When you think you can do it, chances are you'll get a strength you didn't even know you had. Well, I have no idea how to interpret that because couldn't someone be smarter than you? And there has to be someone that puts your strength to shame, I mean, come on. Confidence will only take you so far. So I had one last chance to figure this whole tough thing out. I went to the toughest loner in school, Camille (Cam if you wanted to live).

"What?" she said curtly when I approached her in the school courtyard.

"I wanna learn to be tough," I blurted, trying to sound like I had no time for formalities since apparently she didn't. She stared at me for a minute looking disbelieving before laughing lightly and shaking her head.

"You? Tough? Honey, no one puts Bubbles Utonium and tough in the same sentence unless they're saying 'Bubbles Utonium couldn't be tough if she tried.'" She laughed some more.

"It's not funny!" I said indignantly while stamping my foot. She laughed harder. I was glad we were alone because it was embarrassing enough with just her with me alone. "I'm being serious! I'm tired of being the sweet, innocent, naïve, _weak_ Powerpuff girl. I wanna be taken seriously." The whole 'sweet, innocent, naïve' thing was just something I thought of a few minutes before to add to my case, but saying them, I felt like they held more truth to them than I originally thought they would.

"So, what's bringing on this whole, 'I wanna be bad" thing?" she said leaning forward from the seat at the picnic table she sat at.

"I just told you. I don't wanna be weak. It's not that I wanna be bad. I'm just tired of being…."

"Type casted?" She guessed, raising one of her ginger eyebrows which disappeared into her bangs. I nodded. Tossing some of her long ginger curls over her shoulder she leaned back a bit and nodded.

"I'll be in the main parking lot right after school. You have five minutes to be there if you want my help with this. I love a good project."

"Thanks!" I very near shouted in giddy excitement. She cringed. "Sorry!" I said.

"We have a _lot_ of work to do," she sighed.

PPG PPG PPG

_(Still Tuesday 3:18p.m.)_

Cam was waiting in the parking lot right in the front of the school, leaning against the driver's side chewing on gum and looking unenthusiastic about the rendezvous or the events to follow it.

"I'm here!" I said, wondering if she honestly thought I was going to back out. Well, not me. Not when I'm so close to getting on the right path.

"Great. Hop in." I hopped into the passenger's side of the car, setting my book bag on the floor in between my legs and proceeding to fasten my seatbelt. About fifteen minutes later we finally arrived at the mall. The mall? I expected to go to her house or a secluded spot where she could talk to me about showing people whose boss.

"What're we at the mall for?" I asked as we were getting out of the car.

"Clothes." She said, not even looking at me, just walking towards the entrance. I matched her pace. Shopping was the way to get tough?

"I don't understand." I said finally as we entered the mall after mulling in over in my head for a while and not finding an answer.

"You wanna be tough? The least you can do is look the part." We walked into a Hot Topic and she loaded up my arms with clothes that I'm sure no other human could have withstood the weight of. She expressed her approval and disapproval with shakes of her head. She held up clothes over my torso and extended the sleeves so they could match up with my hanger strewn, outstretched arms.

"Cam, before you get carried away. I don't have that much money on me," I said while she was still rifling through racks of clothing, not looking up upon this disclosure.

"You're my project, so I'm covering it."

"I can't let you do that."

"I have more than enough money to cover this. Don't worry about it, and start trying some of this stuff on." I did as I was told, scurrying to the nearest dressing room. Our next stop was a hair salon somewhere on the other end of the mall. When I wouldn't let them put real highlights in my hair we settled for clip-on. Then she bought me shoes and a travel flat iron for my hair.

"Alright, we're done here. Let's go," she said before leading the way.

Once in the car I watched the many buildings go by before we parked on some random street in the middle of the city. I grabbed the bags from the backseat and followed her two blocks down the road before we reached a fairly large, fairly decent apartment complex. We took the stairs, the elevator being out of order, and I followed her down to the very end of the hallway.

"Grandma! I'm home, and I brought a friend." Cam yelled locking the door behind us.

"That's nice!" she yelled back, "I'll bring you and your friend some snacks later."

I followed Cam into her room, which – to be honest – looked a lot like something I would've designed, with its lavender walls, white lace curtains, and the mountain of stuffed animals in the corner that rivaled the one I had at home.

"Say anything to anyone and you die," she said. Apparently she liked her solitude because I'm certain she'd have more friends if everyone knew how preppy chic she was. "It's time for lesson number one. Break a rule. We'll start small, but the thing about being tough and being is you start small and stay small. Being bad is starting small and then trying to get away with bigger things as you go."

"I thought lesson one was looking the part." She shook her head as if I were a curious student who barely knew anything about the world and needed to be taught.

"What rules do you have at your house?"

"Don't cuss." Silence.

"That's it? Don't cuss?" She asked disbelievingly. I nodded. She pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a frustrated sigh. "Okay. Scratch what I said earlier. Lesson one is now: Take a risk. Have you ever been clubbing?" I shook my head and she grinned mischievously. She got up and rummaged through the shopping bags and tossed a few articles of clothing and some combat boots at me. "Put those on. Hmmm… You need an alias," she said as I scurried to the bathroom.

"A what?" I called from the bathroom.

"A fake name so nobody knows that it's you."

"Um, I've always liked the name Elizabeth," I tried.

"I'll call you Liz for short."

"How do I look?" I asked stepping out from the

About four hours later Cam and I were walking down a street in one of the more sketchy parts of town guy howling at us. I tugged at my black mini skirt and pulled the black mid-riff jacket tighter over the low-cut white tank top. Finally I could hear the pounding techno music and see the silhouettes of dancing bodies in the tinted windows.

"Stick with me," Cam said before opening the door to the club. The club was packed with people and the smell of sweat, alcohol, and cigarette smoke. The question of ' What am I doing here?' popped into my head briefly, but the thought evaporated from my mind as soon as Cam and I started dancing. It was not to last. Panic struck me when I noticed a pair of familiar dark, green eyes. I tried to ignore it and enjoy myself regardless.

"What's wrong?" Cam asked, noticing my rigid movement.

"Oh, uh, nothing," I lied. She studied me for a moment.

"Come on. Let's get a drink," she said, grabbing my wrist.

"I'm too young." She rolled her eyes.

"I meant a soda, Goober," she said with a slight smile. I smiled back while moving one of my many dark purple highlights out of my face while heading to the bar with her. We passed one of the many random mirrors lining the walls and still couldn't believe how different a good straightening and "dye job" could make me look completely different. I let one side of my hair fall like a curtain over one of my shoulders hoping Butch hadn't recognized me or saw me.

"Hey," said a deep voice once Cam and I took a seat at the bar. My heart stopped. I turned and looked into the eyes of my counterpart.

PPG PPG PPG

_(Still Tuesday 10:48)_

Cam and I were laughing on our way home when I got the call from Abbi, my best friend from school and a bit of a queen bee and drama queen. I was like her right hand woman. I took out the little black phoned and pressed it to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Bubbles! Hey! So, I saw you in the courtyard with Cam," Abbi started casually yet suspiciously. I was more than aware that Cam could hear our whole conversation. Abbi was a loud talker.

"Yeah," I said unable to see where this conversation was headed.

"What were you guys talking about?"

"Nothing really. We were mostly just having a slightly awkward conversation and we listened to some music on her iPod."

"I didn't know you liked screamo emo music."

"It wasn't screamo or emo. I mean, I'm a prep and I actually like it."

"Please," she said disbelievingly.

"Abbi don't you think it's possible that the way they dress is just an image? Maybe they dress that want to not be like everyone else."

"Oh my sweet, naïve little Bubbles, I highly doubt that," she said as if she were talking to a small child, "But on to a different subject. You wanna hang out tomorrow afterschool?"

"Sorry," I said, a little offended at the way she spoke to me, "I've got plans." Click. I snapped the phone shut.

"Who're you hanging out with tomorrow?"

"Cam, are you doing anything tomorrow?" We stopped and we looked at each other before doubling over in laughter.


	5. Chapter 5

_Wednesday (12:47 a.m.)_

I'm lying awake in my bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking of what had happened mere hours ago.

_Mere Hours Ago_

_ "Hey," said a deep voice. My heart stopped. I turned and looked into the eyes of my counterpart. 'Okay,' I thought to myself, 'keep cool.' I'd thought about Butch, but hadn't given any thought that his brothers might be here._

_ "Hey," I said, silently praying my voice wasn't shaky._

_ "I haven't seen _you_ around here before. You new to this city?" Boomer asked, checking me out. I was more relieved than disturbed, but I couldn't be sure. After all, Boomer was never known for his brains. That was more Brick's department._

_ "Yeah, I'm new around here," I lied._

_ "So what's your name, Beautiful?" Beautiful? Who knew Boomer could be such a charmer?_

_ "My name is Bu-ahem- I mean, Liz," I said, angry – but not showing it – that I had almost blown my cover and desperately hoping Boomer didn't notice the slip up._

_ "Well, Liz, how would you like it if I showed you around?" he asked slipping an arm my shoulders._

_ "Boomer, stop being such a creeper," said Butch whom had walked over and effectively brushed off Boomer's arm, embarrassed his brother, and ruined Boomer's chances of a date with me. Not that I was in any way interested in Boomer and therefore wouldn't have gone out with him anyway. Besides, his brothers are way cuter. Not that I'm interested in them either. I mean, come on! Their _bad_. With a capital evil. Butch locked eyes with me before saying…_

_ "Haven't I seen you somewhere before?" Crap! Butch wasn't exactly known for his brains either, but he had come a long way from the impulsive, fight-crazy, completely gross, immature boy he had once been. I _really_ had lay on the ice for the whole "cool factor" this time._

_ "I'm sure you haven't. I'm new around here. I'm Liz." He studied me a moment longer then let it go. I released a breath I didn't realize I was holding._

_ "How about I buy you two a drink?" Boomer asked, finally acknowledging Cam's presence._

_ "That'd be great," Cam replied for the both of us._

_ Once at the bar we ordered some soda, well Cam and I did. Butch and Boomer got actual beer. Aren't they too young? But then things got worse._

_ "__**Butchy!**__" squealed the nasal voice of the rich, beautiful, obnoxious, evil Princess Morbucks. A toothpick thin girl with outrageously curly, red hair. Butch groaned. Boomer snickered._

_ "Butch, your girlfriend's coming," Boomer taunted. Butch glared at him and hit him in the back of the head. I giggled. Butch looked at me with a strange look of recognition, but before he had time to put the pieces together Princess had her arms around his neck._

_ "Butch, there you are! Who's this?" she asked glaring at me up and down, giving me the classic girl once over when sizing up competition. She could have Butch I was, in no way, interested._

_ "I'm Liz, and this my friend Cam," I answered._

_ "You seem familiar," Princess sneered. I understood how I seemed familiar. I hadn't changed much of my appearance only the crowd I hung with was the real difference. Bubbles Utonium, sweet, naïve, angelic, Powerpuff girl wouldn't be caught dead here. Butch got that look on his face again._

_ "I, ah, I'm new to Townsville," I replied, almost convincing myself by this point._

_ "You never told me if you were coming to my party this Friday night," Princess pouted, addressing Butch and shrugging off my identity._

_ "We'll be there," Boomer piped up, receiving an annoyed look from Butch._

_ "Perfect," Princess purred before flouncing away._

_ "What the hell, Boomer!" Butch said harshly to his brother._

_ "What? It's a party! Plus it's not like you gotta show up." Then Boomer turned to me, "Would you like to come?"_

_ "Um…," I said and tossed a frantic look towards Cam._

_ "You can bring you friend too," Boomer added._

_ "We'll be there," Cam stated._

_ "Sweet," Boomer commented._

_Now_

So now I'm going to a party at Princess Morbucks's house with the Rowdyruff boys, er, one of them at least. Regardless of how many, they're our enemies, villains. But underneath it all, beneath my morals and conscience, I felt the accelerating rush of adrenaline coursing through me like lightening. I wanted to go to that party, but there was one problem. I had a date with Marco Friday. I could talk to Cam about it. I wonder she doesn't mind the excuse "fashionably late."

_Wednesday (10:37 a.m.)_

_ "You're so beautiful," Marco whispered, holding me. We were in the park by the duck pond illuminated by the moonlight and fireflies reflected by the pond. I leaned into his chest and closed my eyes. He stroked my hair. When I looked back into his brown eyes, I saw that they were no longer brown but forest green and his brown hair was black. And I realized that I was in the arms of Butch Jojo… and liking it._

I woke with a start in the middle of history class, thankful the teacher hadn't noticed my short nap. I'm crazy. I don't like Butch. I don't even know him. _'Maybe… you like the danger…,'_ a voice in my head said lowly. I faintly remember the giant rush of fear that coursed through my every vein, but I vividly remembered the adrenaline that rushed alongside it, the excitement of it and the out of body feeling that came with it. It felt like I wasn't Bubbles, the sweet and innocent Powerpuff girl. I felt normal as opposed to the goody two shoes who carried the immense weight of having to be perfect 24/7.

After class I ran into Cam who was carrying an open packet of cigarettes. She nodded her head in my direction, acknowledging me, but even that small gesture reminded me of the adrenaline rush before. And just like that I was walking along side her.

"Can I try?" I asked. She looked at me for a second then shrugged. She and I were behind the school near the dumpsters. She took the cigarettes from the packet and offered me one. Carefully, once it had been lit, I inhaled. I then began to sputter and cough, not expecting my body to react in such a way.

"The first time is always the hardest," Cam said, breathing out a puff of smoke. I tried again, and this time it was easier (I have no idea how long it takes to get used to smoking because I don't smoke. It's just a character thing). Eventually, smoking became a regular thing. Always behind the school, by the dumpster, during 4th period.

"You know, you're not like anything like I expected, Cam," I said after a few minutes of silent smoking.

"What do you mean?" she asked before taking a long drag on her cigarette.

"You're not some loner that hates the world."

"That's what you thought of me?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. She didn't look offended, more like intrigued.

"That's what everyone else said."  
>"Don't believe everything you hear. You, however, are exactly what I expected."<p>

"What'd you expect?"

"A normal girl with her own flaws and problems just like everyone else. Not including the super hero stuff."

"That's half of me. The other half is perfect… or at least seems that way."

"You can't always be perfect and trying to be is a recipe for disaster," then grimly she said, "The stress will kill you."

"Oh."

PPG PPG PPG

_Still Wednesday (Afterschool)_

"You, Bubs! A few of my friends and I were going to Starbucks for some coffee," Cam said, "Wanna come?" I'd been talking to Abbi, but since my talk with Cam, everything with my other friends said sounded superficial and incredibly shallow.

"Yeah," I said and to Abbi I said, "I gotta go. Remember how I said I had plans? These are them."

"Since when did you decide to go Goth on me?" Abbi asked.

"She's not Goth!"

"Emo! Whatever! I just don't understand why you're pretending to be someone you're not. You're one of us."

"Us? Do you even know who 'us' is?"

"Us – _we_ are normal. You know, people with _friends_," she glared at Cam when she said this.

"Hey! That's not nice!" I interrupted.

"S'okay, Bubs. I'll catch you later."

"No, I'm coming with you," I stated.

"Stop pretending, Bubbles! Wake up!" Abbi continued to call after me.

Turns out, by friends, Cam meant two girls and the RRBs. Butch, Boomer, Brick, and company were leaned up against the wall of the Starbucks building, each having a smoke.

"You, Liz," Boomer called, "Sup Cam?"

"Nuthin'. Wassup?" Cam replied. Before coming, I'd become Liz. Cam said I would need to and for good reason.

"Liz, you know Butch and Boomer, but allow me to introduce Brick, the most obnoxious of the three," Liz introduce, Brick rolled his eyes.

"Those two girls over there are Sarai and Darcy."

Darcy was super skinny and pale white. She was pretty tall and gangly with long facial features to match. Her amber eyes looked tired and she had a slight hunch.

Sarai was her opposite. She was short and rather shapely. Her mud brown eyes seemed animated and she had small facial features and seemed to be full of nervous energy.

"Hi," came a quick sort of high pitched greeting from Darcy.

"Hello," Sarai drawled out in a low tone of voice. Yes, these girls certainly what you'd expect.

"Want one?" Brick offered me a cigarette. Brick's form visibly relaxed. To him, I wasn't who he expected me to be. Whoever heard of a Powerpuff who smoked? _Especially_ Bubbles Utonium.

I inhaled deeply, holding the smoke in my lungs for two or three seconds before exhaling. No coughing included.

"So you've smoked before?" Brick asked.

"Obviously. She's no coughing like crazy," Cam replied for me.

"You, I'm gonna get some coffee. Want anything?" Boomer asked.

"I'm good," I said after blowing out a puff of smoke.

"Grab me a latte," Darcy replied.

"I'll come with," Cam said, pushing herself off the wall. Butch took one look at me and stared into my eyes for a second of hour, I wasn't sure, before following Cam and Boomer.

"I think Butch likes you," Sarai said, a slow, knowing smile creeping across her face, and Darcy was giving a tired smile. I vaguely wondered if Darcy ever looked as lively as she sounded. It also dawned on me that Butch could hear everything we were saying, so I went with the safest answer.

"Oh?" I said, raising an eyebrow and giving an air of nonchalance.

"Yeah. Isn't he the cutest? You're so lucky!" Darcy added.

"Butch doesn't like me. Besides, Princess seems to be keeping him occupied, and I have a boyfriend," I said stomping out my cigarette.

"Ooh! Is he cute?" Darcy persisted and like that the conversation of Butch's maybe-affections for me was forgotten.


	6. Chapter 6

Thursday (Lunch school)

"A party?" Marco asked over the phone.

"Yeah. Me and a few friends are going," I said. I didn't want to invite him, seeing as he knew Bubbles, not Liz. I'd been pushed into asking him by Darcy and Sarai, but I was hoping more than anything that he couldn't come.

"Sorry, Babe. After our date I'm all tied up. Family things. You know?" _Babe_?

"Yeah, I totally understand. No worries," I said, relieved beyond belief.

"Catch you later," he said.

"Yeah, bye," I said snapping the cell phone shut.

"Close call," Cam said pulling her headphones out. I sighed and nodded.

"Too close. Maybe I should tell him," I mused.

"That's not exactly something you bring up on the first date."

"The third date is as late as I'll wait." She mulled this over a bit.

"Fine. Just make sure he keeps his mouth shut," she didn't seem to want me to tell him at all.

"What do you think? I don't have to tell 'im…," She just shrugged, "There might be less conflict that way. S'not easy living a double life ya know." She just shrugged. "Maybe I shouldn't tell him. He might not be able to keep his mouth shut," shrug, "Plus he might not react well to the part where we're friends with Butch, Brick, and Boomer." Shrug. "We could leave that part out?" Shrug. "Can you pick a choice? Make a suggestion? _Something_ other than shrug your shoulders at me?" She quirked an eyebrow at me and shrugged.

"What do you think?" I asked again, exasperated.

"I don't really have an opinion on it."

"Ugh. You're no help."

**(A/N: I'm going to skip how Bubbles's date went and probably make it a one shot.)**

Friday (Cam's house 9:00 p.m. in her room)

"Ya know how I said that'd I'd tell Marco about my secret?" I asked Cam.

"Mm-hm."

"I don't think we'll make it to the second date."

"That bad hm?"

"Yeah."

"Butch is still available." I snorted at the thought.

"What's so funny about that?"

"We're total opposites," I said applying eye liner. My cell phone rung, startling me. "Shit!" I exclaimed after smearing my make-up. "Hello?" I asked, not without a hint of annoyance in my voice.

"Bubbles? Where are you?" Blossom.

"I'm with a friend. Don't worry. I'll be home by midnight."

"What?! Are you crazy?!"

"Just cover for me if you Professor won't go for it"

"Wha-"

"Relax. I'll be fine."

"But- but…"

"Buttercup stays out way later than I do, and Professor never has a problem with it."

"Yeah, but Buttercup's tough and you're, well… you're…."

"_Weak_?"

"I wasn't going to say that!"

"Uh-huh. I'm a super heroine. I have _super powers_. I can handle myself."

"Just get home."

"And I will. At midnight!"

"Bub-"

"Bye!" I snapped the phone shut.

"I remember when I first cursed," Cam said, a look of acceptance on her face, "But it wasn't until much later when I snuck out. And even later started smoking. You're learning fast, bad girl." I grinned.

PPG PPG PPG

(Still Friday. Princess Morbucks's house 9:45)

The first thing I saw was Butch leaned casually on the side of the wall, sipping a beer, and the same bored expression on his face. A group of giggling girls, blondes… go figure, were about six feet away admiring him, completely unaware he could hear everything they were saying even in their hushed whispers. _I_ could hear everything they were saying, and I was maybe 20 feet away.

Our eyes met and he nodded in my direction. I waved half-heartedly. Darcy and Sarai ambled up to us, a beer in Darcy's hand, two beers and a cigarette in Sarai's hands. Sarai handed us the beers.

"Your boo couldn't make it?" Darcy questioned. I shook my head. "S'okay. I think Butch wanted you to himself. I looked at Butch to find him glaring at us. I giggled, and he deepened his scowl. For some reason I just rolled my eyes and smirked. He rolled his eyes and pushed himself off the wall, and walked around to the other side of the house.

"Let's go inside," I suggested. Inside the house, it was loud and smelled like beer and sweat. I found myself forcing to get through the packed crowd. I heard a few wolf whistles and a "Hey, baby what's your number?" and a "Come party with us, sexy," but I kept walking.

"Slow down! You're gonna lose me, and you don't wanna get lost in here," Cam called after me.

"I can handle myself."

"Trust me, Liz, there are just certain things you can't do. Not to mention, half of these people are baked and the other half is trouble. If you do get lost then find me, one of the girls, or the boys. Clear?"

"Crystal."

"But you shouldn't get lost 'cause I'll be sticking to you like glue."

"Where's the kitchen? I need some water or something. I don't drink beer."

"I do," she said snatching the beer away from me.

"So what now?"

"We mingle."

"But you said half these people were baked and the other half were no good."

"I know, but I know how to handle 'em. Stick with me kid. Also, never go to the bathroom alone. Always have someone stand guard."

"Why?"

"Because people will barge in there, whether it's to barf or for some other reason." I wrinkled my nose in disgust. I didn't even want to know what she meant by "other reason."

We gravitated to the upstairs living room where the music was pounding and bodies were dancing and we joined the sea of people, gyrating, spinning, going crazy, hearing hoots from a few guys and a "Get it, girl!"

"Nice moves, Liz," Brick called from where everyone else we were friends with seemed to have gathered.

"Thanks," I called back as I danced my way over to him with Cam right next to me.

"Heh heh heh. As interesting as this party is," Butch started sarcastically, "I'm going home."

"You're not having fun?" I asked.

"I've been to better parties."

"What?!" Princess said appearing, in the kitchen, behind me. She shoved me out of the way, and I staggered in my four inch, black, platform, knee-high boots. Butch caught me by my elbow and steadied me before looking at Princess, whom was fuming, and rolling his eyes.

"The party's just getting started. You can't leave," she whined. Butch walked off without responding.

"Butch! BUTCH!" Princess's voice jumped an octave higher. She stamped her foot and stormed off in the opposite direction. Maybe it was impulse or just doing what felt right, but regardless of what it was I followed after Butch.


End file.
